DESCRIPTION: (Applicant?s Description) The University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) and the University of Southern Colorado(USC; a Minority Institution will work in collaboration to increase the pool of qualified students pursuing a career in cancer research, and to establish cancer research projects conducted at USC in collaboration with UCCCC. This proposal is a partnership approach aimed at reducing the disparities in cancer control and prevention, and to develop a pipeline for students from secondary education through undergraduate programs in the region to access graduate programs at UCCCC. The proposed pilot cancer research projects conducted at USC in collaboration with UCCCC include research in the specific areas of attachment and metastasis, analysis of the p53 gene mutation in both lung and breast cancer, and determination of the relationship between environmental insults and cancer incidence in the geographical area of Pueblo County, Colorado. These projects will serve to increase the participation of USC in research relevant to cancer by establishing collaborations between faculty at both institutions. To accomplish this we propose to establish formal clinical/academic partnerships to enhance training opportunities for minority scientists. Part of this formal partnership will involve the expansion of undergraduate oncology nursing research and education and the collaborative development of a post-graduate nursing program with an emphasis in oncology training in a rural setting. To address the lack of cancer education within the Colorado minority community we propose to generate an educational tract that links high school students to USC through a summer Pre-Collegiate Program. This linkage will continue at the college level with the development of a pipeline from two-year institutions to a 4-year program at USC. In addition, a week-long cancer educational workshop will be included in the established Bridges to Biomedical Careers program currently existing at USC, a program designed to increase the qualified pool of Hispanic students pursuing a biomedical research degree. We intend to enhance cancer awareness through these educational pipeline projects and to stimulate an interest in cancer research by these pipeline students. The outcome of this project will have a positive impact on both the institutions and communities involved in the collaboration and additionally it has the potential to impact cancer incidence and outcomes within Colorado through our increased collaborative cancer research, education and clinical practice endeavors.